On Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017, Council Rock North seniors Anna Lehman and Claire Jarema were recognized for committing to continue their lacrosse careers at the collegiate level. To view photos of the event, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Claire Jarema – Bryant University (Lacrosse)
Major: Business
Final list of colleges: Bryant, Connecticut, High Point
Reasons for choosing Bryant: “Throughout all of high school, I looked at so many different schools, and I’ve gotten so much experience all over the East Coast. When I got my offer from Bryant, I was going to wait to find out what other schools were thinking for my future, but after a few days, I realized even if other schools offered me, I still would have picked Bryant, so I just decided to go there right away.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in lacrosse at the collegiate level? “I started lacrosse when I was in fifth grade because my brother played and my mom thought I would be good at it, so I just tried it out. I was actually terrified because I thought I would get hurt by the ball, but I just fell in love with it. Especially my sixth grade coach, Dave Hurwitz, he was a giant influence on my love for the game. I just loved it ever since, and I knew right then I wanted to play it as long as I can.”
Coach Krista Dayton-Ventresca says: “Claire was out all season with an ACL injury. She was probably the fastest player I have ever coached, and speed kills in lacrosse. There’s not a whole lot you can do in terms of closing down a fast player. Claire has an excellent lacrosse IQ, and she and Anna (Lehman) work wonderfully together. Two years ago when Devon Mela was there – the three of them were just a joy to watch because they just got it. I would say, ‘Here’s the sequence,’ and they would just do it. That’s a hard thing to teach. With Claire not being there, we missed that speed in the midfield. Anna and Claire are both tenacious, but add that tenacity to the speed – she was literally everywhere. As a junior she led our team in almost every stat and was our team MVP. Claire was at every game, and she was at most of the practices even though she couldn’t do anything.”
About Claire:
Favorite food: Steak
Favorite movie: The Outsiders
Favorite music: Alternative
Anna Lehman – Lehigh University (Lacrosse)
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Final list of colleges: Lehigh, James Madison, Brown, Connecticut, Lafayette
Reasons for choosing Lehigh: “I love the atmosphere of the team, I love that it’s kind of close to home, and I love the campus – it’s really, really awesome.”
What was the progression that led you to playing lacrosse at the collegiate level? “Freshman year I played field hockey and lacrosse and was going to see where it took me. My dad played college lacrosse at Penn State, and I’ve always kind of known I was going to play a sport in college. I just didn’t know if it would be lacrosse or field hockey. It just really worked out for lacrosse because I love the schools that were interested in me.”
Krista Dayton-Ventresca says: “Anna also just has an excellent lacrosse IQ. She scored the majority of our goals this season. She knows how to get open, and she knows how to feed open players. She’s a workhorse, and she never gave up ever.
“Anna and Claire are just really awesome kids. They’re both humble, they’ve both worked for everything they got.”
About Anna:
Favorite food: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Favorite movie: Harry Potter
Favorite music: 21 Pilots
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